Language We Don’t Love

March 08, 2016

Spotify is at its core a social service. It was designed to be a simple way to listen to music with friends. And the app itself is billed as your “best friend,” who knows your taste in tunes and makes you “personal mixtapes” every week.

But if Spotify is supposed to be my friend, why doesn’t it talk about music the way my friends do?

May 01, 2015

Many very smart, and very savvy people will disagree with me, but I hate the term “Personal Brand.”

That’s not to say I think nothing of the concept. You only have to go through the job-seeking mill to see that online presence is everything today. I recently helped a friend answer a job application—she was poleaxed by the long list of links and handles she was required to submit to prove her employable personhood. Personal branding is effective and necessary. But why can’t we brand it better?

February 27, 2015

It’s with the spirit of this idea in mind that we regularly find ourselves advising our clients to simplify. To use the language of the everyman, not insider jargon. The main purpose of common language is, of course, to be broadly understood. And jargon is an insider’s game. Could a ten year-old understand it? If not, think hard about throwing it out there.

February 13, 2015

Ok, Groupon, I get it – you’re trying to be inclusive of those in loving relationship and those of us who might still be looking for someone. But with your latest email headline, I think you may have missed the mark with everyone…. or almost everyone.

January 26, 2015

The folks we spoke to told us loud and clear: they don’t buy anything that Belichick is saying. In fact – his press conference is more like a “what not to do” in communications. Here’s the breakdown…

SHOCK? We are in awe that he would expect us to believe that he was shocked to learn about the situation. Why would he lead with his reaction to the accusations? He should have gone straight to the heart of the matter. No one believed that he was shocked to learn the news… or that he had no knowledge. No one that we spoke to. Anywhere.

January 21, 2015

Imagine a TV salesman says that as you read this, your friend from college, who you’ve always rather unsecretly had a kind of semi-twisted bromantic rivalry with, is getting a much bigger TV than you. Also much, um, crisper. Where the blacks are blacker or some nonsense.

Perhaps a few people would shout “Ohhhhhh no. Trevor is NOT upstaging me, TV-wise!” These people are mostly sitcom husbands.

January 14, 2015

Office moves can be great for office morale—everyone likes new spaces and a chance to start fresh. But they can also be a little dangerous. Someone always seems to take the opportunity to criticize everyone else’s messy desks and less-than-hygienic habits.